Resource on Palestine

Yale Postdoc Association - Racial Justice Committee:
 
Resource on Palestine
 
August 2021
 
Disclaimer: These views do not reflect the entirety of the YPA. Please find a response to this statement here.
 
We at the Racial Justice Committee stand for anti-hate and dismantling oppression. We extend our support for our fellow Palestinian postdocs at Yale. We support the Palestinian’s pursuit of happiness, liberation, dignity, and security. Our mission is to provide additional resources to the - broad and international - community of Yale Postdocs, to educate, advocate, and advance racial justice. The goal of this document is to inform and encourage thoughtful and respectful discussion and support around these complex issues. This resource page focuses on presenting the overall inequality experienced by the Palestinian people across Gaza, West Bank, and Jerusalem. We stand against all suffering inflicted by this conflict, and support non-violent protests towards ongoing settler colonial projects and military occupations everywhere.
 
It’s been nearly 3 months since the ceasefire in Gaza, yet many people remain among rubble and destroyed homes, living under a 15-year-blockade and denied basic human rights to health  and clean water, as revealed by recent UN/WHO reports. A 14-year-old child living through this conflict would have survived four wars by now. These traumatic events result in 53% of children in Gaza to be diagnosed with PTSD. The most recent ceasefire has not addressed the obliterated infrastructure and over seventy thousand people whose homes and businesses were destroyed. People in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, and dozens of other neighborhoods and villages, still await an uncertain future of their ancestral homes being taken away. The West Bank remains divided into over 160 enclaves, while the settler population is increasing by 3.5% annually across 131 settlements - and counting - that are illegal by international law. The return to ‘normal’ (i.e., a lower intensity of violence by Israeli government) is not sustainable and should not be accepted.
So, what can we do?
 
We cannot be “Progressive Except for Palestine” (Read: Hill & Plitnick - Except for Palestine). The U.S. along with other world leaders must sanction the Israeli government for ‘the crimes of Apartheid and Persecution’ (Review: Human Rights Watch Report - A Threshold Crossed). Yale divested from apartheid in South Africa, and must protest the injustice to Palestinian people by joining the 51 colleges who divested from Israeli apartheid (see: visualizingpalestine.org/visuals/divesting-for-justice-ii ).
 
Individually, we can educate ourselves on the data (btselem.org/statistics), works of art (Watch: JVP: 60 films worth watching), or simply read their stories. You can also use your voice to contact your elected officials and demand that your Congressional representative supports H.R. 2590, which calls to end U.S. funding of the Israeli government’s oppression of Palestinians.
 
Resistance can take many forms; silence is not one, and standing idly by perpetuates the situation. Acknowledging the facts and speaking out are the first steps to provide justice. We acknowledge that there are many events that have happened in the past, and that this is an extremely complex issue that cannot possibly be covered in a one-page resource. Further, we acknowledge the devastating impact of this conflict on both the Palestinian and Israeli people and we strongly encourage you to read more about all aspects of these issues.
 
Want to discuss this further? Reach out if you’d like to participate in a listening/learning session to learn more about this history and current issues in a safe space. Every point of view is welcome and encouraged.
Join the YPA and its Racial Justice Subcommittee! And take our 2 questions survey to tell us what you think.